Russians claim that trucks with drones belong to former Kyiv resident

Russian media reports that the trucks from which the drones were launched during the attacks on four military airfields in Russia belong to 37-year-old Artem Timofeev, a native of Donetsk and former resident of Kyiv.

Timofeev is currently wanted. The administration of Ust-Kut (Irkutsk region) suspects him of involvement in the attack on the Belaya airfield. The Russian authorities have already issued a search warrant for his detention.

According to Russian media, Timofeev had lived in Miass, Chelyabinsk region, had Russian citizenship, and had repeatedly violated traffic rules in his Scania trucks. The drones used during the attack were concealed in modular houses mounted on trailers.

It is noted that all the truck drivers were detained. In the Ryazan region, 47-year-old Sergey Kanurin was detained; in the Ivanovo region, 56-year-old Mikhail Ryumin; in the Murmansk region, 56-year-old Alexander Zaitsev; and in the Irkutsk region, 62-year-old Andrey Merkuriev.

It was established that the drones were indeed launched from the bodies of trucks. The Security Service of Ukraine had been preparing the operation, codenamed “Web,” for over a year and a half. Everything was planned so that the Russian pilots could not raise their planes in time, as they did not expect the Ukrainian drones to cover such a long distance.

There was also information that the driver of one of the trucks was found dead – allegedly as a result of strangulation.

It has become known that attacks have occurred on at least four military airfields: “Olenya” (Murmansk region), “Belaya” (Irkutsk region), “Ivanovo” (Ivanov region), and “Dyagilevo” (Ryazan region). In addition, unconfirmed information about the destruction of the “Voznesensk” base in the Moscow region has appeared in the media.

Preliminary estimates indicate that approximately 40 aircraft were damaged or destroyed, including strategic bombers such as the A-50, Tu-95, and Tu-22M3. All Tu-95s that were at the “Olenya” base at the time of the attack were destroyed because they were the ones launching cruise missiles at Ukraine.

Vasyl Malyuk, the head of the Security Service of Ukraine, revealed additional details about this unexpected operation. He reported that the SBU carried out an unprecedented strike behind enemy lines, hitting four military airfields at once.

As a result of Operation Spiderweb, 41 enemy aircraft were hit, including cruise missile carriers – Tu-95, Tu-22M3, and Tu-160, as well as the A-50 long-range radar detection aircraft. This accounts for approximately 34% of the Russian Federation’s entire strategic aviation fleet.

President Volodymyr Zelensky personally supervised the implementation of this operation. Malyuk emphasized that the purpose of the attack was to destroy the aircraft that launched missiles at Ukrainian cities every day.

At the beginning of the operation, FPV drones were illegally transported to Russia, and then mobile wooden houses were installed on trucks. The drones were hidden under the roofs and, at the right moment, were remotely launched into the air.

“This was not just a devastating blow to enemy aviation, but a serious blow to the terrorist essence of Russia,” said Malyuk.

The preliminary cost of the hit aircraft is over $ 7 billion. He also noted that all participants in the operation have already returned to Ukraine and, if necessary, the SBU “will be able to get the enemy even from under the ground.”